


Time Is Precious, Use it Wisely

by TheDarkestDandelion



Series: The Daemon, the Soldier and a Stolen Bio-Weapon AU [62]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angry Ardyn Izunia, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assassination Attempt(s), BAMF Cor Leonis, Daemons, Dinner, Drinks, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Dinner, Fear, Fear of Death, Good Ardyn Izunia, Grandfather Somnus Lucis Caelum, Hate, Headaches & Migraines, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Innocent Prompto, Love, M/M, Mentions of Aulea Lucis Caelum - Freeform, Multi, Panic, Parent Ardyn Izunia, Parent Cor Leonis, Parent Regis Lucis Caelum, Phone Calls & Telephones, Poisoning, Prompto Argentum Angst, Prompto Argentum Needs a Hug, Protective Ardyn Izunia, Protective Cor Leonis, Protective Regis Lucis Caelum, Protective Somnus Lucis Caelum, Scourge, Shock, Sleepy Noctis Lucis Caelum, Stomach Pumping, Tears, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:35:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24797044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkestDandelion/pseuds/TheDarkestDandelion
Summary: Regis has decided that tonight was going to be a family night, and he invites Ardyn and Prompto to have dinner with them at the Citadel.It is just a simple family dinner, what could possibly go wrong?
Relationships: Ardyn Izunia & Regis Lucis Caelum, Ardyn Izunia/Cor Leonis, Prompto Argentum & Ardyn Izunia & Cor Leonis
Series: The Daemon, the Soldier and a Stolen Bio-Weapon AU [62]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1310333
Comments: 63
Kudos: 71





	1. Dinner Time

**Author's Note:**

> Angst is a thing I suddenly wanted to write again. :(
> 
> Anyway here you go :)

“Sometimes I wonder if Aulea had an affair with Somnus.” 

Regis sighed to his uncle as the pair looked at the former and future Kings of Lucis. The pair of them had their heads rested on their forearms as they dozed away the few precious moments before dinner was to be served. They were too similar for their own good on occasion, other than the fact Noctis had a heart of gold (in Regis’s eyes anyway) and his grandfather’s attitude and actions were questionable to say the least.... But it was rather adorable seeing them like this. It was a shame they had to wake them up soon. 

“Trust me Reggie, if Mors wasn’t your father, you would have done this when you were Noct’s age. To be honest, you probably still would be doing it now.” Ardyn chuckled, ruffling Prom’s hair who was patiently sitting next to him at the dinner table, taking a massive gulp of his juice drink. “Are you alright, sunbeam?”

Prompto nodded, taking his cup away from his lips. “Yeah. I am just a little sad that’s all.” 

Both Ardyn and Regis placed all their attention onto the blonde prince. What? Why was he sad?! Prompto was not allowed to be sad ever! Ardyn’s heart began to race a little faster than normal and he wrapped his arm around his son to make him feel safe. He hoped whatever ailed his sunbeam wasn’t too serious. 

In a gentle tone Ardyn asked. “Sad? Why are you sad, my darling?” 

“Cause dad isn’t eating with us. It’s not really a family meal if dad isn’t eating too.” Prompto admitted, giving Ardyn a weak smile.

“Oh sunbeam, he is on duty, that is the only reason why he isn’t.” 

“I know… I just want him to be here.” 

“Don’t be sad darling. Your father is going to take over from Monica when dinner is finally served. He will be here in no time at all. I promise.” Ardyn said in a happy tone, trying to make Prompto feel better. Who was Ardyn kidding, he wanted Cor here as much as their son did. 

When Prompto nodded and started to sip at his drink again, Ardyn finally let go of his son and went back to planning how he was going to wake Somnus up this time around, as Regis continued to babble on about something that was probably very important. Ardyn stared at his brother and thought that he could pour wine over him? No, that was a waste of wine. He could kick him in the unmentionables? That would be pretty funny but he would scream and hurt his ears. He could scream in his face? Actually, even Ardyn knew that one would be cruel. After all, little Noct was still sleeping and poor Prom would probably have a freak out and freeze time so he could get away from whatever scared him. But before he could follow through with any plan something twigged in Ardyn’s brain. He turned back to Prom and shook his head, interrupting whatever the hell Reggie was going on about.

“Young man? Why are you drinking that? You know no juice until food is on the table.” Ardyn said in a stern voice, as he stared at his 11-year-old son. 

“But I am thirsty, dad.” Prom whined, looking over to Regis for help.

“Yes, that is why water is on the table.” 

“But-” 

“Oh, Ardyn let him drink it. This isn’t a state dinner, no one is here to complain.” Regis rolled his eyes at his uncle. “You go ahead and drink away Prom.” 

Prom smiled and carried on drinking, purposely avoiding eye contact with his dad. 

“Regis, I am trying to prepare him for state dinners. This is the only chance I get to do it because Cor doesn’t like it when I try to teach him state manners at home.” Ardyn gruffed. 

Regis laughed out loud. “Manners?! Are you joking?! Uncle, you are the only one who point blank refuses to pray at the dinner table during such events. Do you know how offensive that is to other people?” 

“It is offensive to make me participate in religious practice, when I have no faith in that religion.” 

“So if you don’t care for that; let your son have a drink.” 

“Who’s son is he?” 

“Oh, Ardyn, just stop. This is quite enough.” Regis breathed out rubbing his temple, feeling a headache coming on. 

“Stop?! I have never once told you how to raise your-”

“Oi!” 

Upon hearing Cor’s voice, Ardyn immediately stopped what he was saying and excitedly turned around, smiling brightly at his husband. However, Cor did not look impressed that he had come into them arguing.

“Darling!” Ardyn squealed, gesturing for Cor to approach them.

“Dad! Please get them to stop?” Prompto begged, getting out of his chair to run over and hug his dad.

Cor happily hugged Prompto back and told him to go back to his seat before turning his attention to Ardyn, and because the Marshal was on duty and other guards were in the room he had to politely address his annoying husband. “Your Grace, do not argue with His Majesty.” 

“He started it!” Ardyn said in shock as his jaw fell to the floor. Cor was meant to be on his side! It didn’t help that he could hear both Regis and Somnus - who had woken up thanks to Cor shouting - sniggering at him. 

“He is the King. Law of the land. Automatically it means he is correct.” 

Regis continued to laugh. “Thank you, Marshal Leonis.” 

“Shut up, Reggie.” Ardyn spat. 

“Anyway, you can go back to your post now Cor.” 

The Marshal bowed and did as he was told, and within 20 seconds the waiters came in with their food. Thankfully, the Marshal’s entrance not only woke up the Founder King but also the Prince as well, even if he looked like he was about to fall into the roast dinner they were having. Ardyn felt like maybe Noctis needed to stop spending so much time with Somnus because clearly he was a bad influence on the poor child. No matter, Regis could deal with that when Noctis started attending rather important meetings and international affairs. Oh it was going to be so funny to watch as the Crown Prince of Lucis fell asleep as, _ I don’t know… _ a councilman from Accordo starting speaking. That was all ahead of them. Right now, dinner was far more important. 

Like Ardyn always did before he ate, he took a sip of his wine, and as the liquid touched his lips he knew something was not right. It tasted sweeter than usual… Or was that a hint of copper? No… it wasn’t copper. Ardyn quickly took another swig of his drink and the realisation hit him as hard as the toxin that laced his wine. He felt his eyes dilate and his heart rate began to slow down from its usual slow place. He could feel every single daemon in his being trying their hardest to expel the substance from his body as his mouth went dry from the fast acting poison that was running through his veins. His head began to pound and the lights in the room started to hurt him more than it ever should. In an attempt to ensure that he didn’t keel over in front of the children he let his hand fall to the side and scourge-forced the poison out of his body by releasing some of the black goo onto the floor. Just as Ardyn was slowly getting his bearings back he snapped his head in the direction of Regis who was just about to take a sip of his own drink. Without thinking, Ardyn summoned a dagger and flung it towards the King. The dagger hit the cup and it flew out of Regis’s hands. 

“ARDYN!” Regis shouted, glaring at his uncle as the guard got their weapons, as they thought His Grace had suddenly gone rogue. 

“IT’S POISONED!” Ardyn screamed back. 

“Shit!” Somnus gritted his teeth together. 

Immediately he picked up Noctis’s drink, thanking whatever God that had not allowed Noct to take a sip of it, and drank from the cup. The Founder King noticed straight away that something wasn’t right with the beverage and threw the cup behind him, getting the substance as far away from the Prince as fast as he could. 

“Grandad!” Noctis complained. 

“Shut up Noctis!” 

That was when Ardyn’s heart stopped. 

Then he heard the heart-shattering voice of his husband, screaming their son’s name at the top of his lungs. When he turned his head, he saw Cor crying his eyes out holding an unconscious Prompto in his arms. 

“PROMPTO! PROM!” 


	2. Time Spent In The Dark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am in the mood for angst man! Sorry to the other stories that are just waiting on the shelf.... it makes me sad when I just leave them I will update as soon as possible though! 
> 
> And a Happy Birthday to @WhoStarLocked ! I know I said I would update my Prom/Nyx fic for you but I wasn't feeling it... sorry. 
> 
> Anyhow, I hope you enjoy :)

“IT’S POISONED!” 

Cor’s eyes went wide when he heard Ardyn scream that at Regis. 

In that moment, Cor knew he should call Clarus and tell him to get Regis and Noctis somewhere safe. He should give the order for all the guards to take the food and drinks away immediately but fuck duty! The Marshal’s eyes went straight for his son and what he saw… was going to haunt him for the rest of his life. Prom was slumped in his chair and no one had noticed. Cor ran over to the table and went to Prom’s side. Cor instantly held him in his arms, as close to his chest as possible, hoping that the sudden movement would wake his son up. It didn’t. Knowing exactly what had taken place Cor’s eyes began to fill up with hot fearful tears and he screamed at his son in an attempt to wake him up. 

“PROMPTO! PROM!” 

It didn’t work. 

Prompto didn’t even stir. 

Cor started to tremble, refusing to let Prompto go as he desperately tried again to wake him up by rocking him gently and repeating his name over and over again. Cor was so overwhelmed, he didn’t even notice the hand that grabbed his shoulder or the fact that he had been teleported to another part of the Citadel. All Cor could focus on was his son’s face and how Prom was refusing to open his eyes.  _ Why wouldn’t he open his fucking eyes! His beautiful baby boy! _ Only when Prompto was forced out of his grip did Cor realise what was going on around him. 

Red soon completely took over his vision. 

He looked up to see Ardyn passing their son to a doctor and the doctor in question nodded and ran down the corridor carrying Prom, following another doctor.

No, no, no, Cor couldn’t let Prompto out of his sight! 

“PROMPTO!” Cor screamed again, and attempted to make a dash after them but Ardyn got in the way and held onto his shoulders to prevent him from getting closer. Cor wasn’t having it. “GET OUT OF THE WAY!” 

“NO! Cor listen to me!” Ardyn tried to say but it was in vain. 

Cor pushed Ardyn away from him and rolled out of his reach so Ardyn couldn’t grab him again. The Marshal began to sprint in the direction he had seen the doctor take his son away. He needed to know that Prom was okay! Cor didn’t make it very far though. Within seconds, he felt a strong pair of arms wrap around him and pull him to almost a halt. Cor didn’t care if it was Ardyn, right now Prompto needed him; so he tried his hardest to push his husband away from him so he could get to their child. He needed to be with their son. 

“Ardyn stop!” Cor cried, tears still streaming down his face as he struggled, pushed, stomped; doing whatever he could to get out of Ardyn’s strong grip. “I need Prompto!” 

Ardyn didn’t listen to him. Instead, Cor was pushed up against a wall by his front and held there, but that did nothing to prevent Cor from struggling. 

After a few seconds of fighting, Ardyn spoke and his voice sounded anything but gentle. “Cor, darling, you need to calm down!” 

“HE COULD BE DEAD!” Cor screamed back, still struggling even though it was nearly impossible to move, and when he did move his muscles started to burn due to the strong grip Ardyn had on him.

“WHY DO YOU THINK I DON’T WANT YOU THERE!!” Ardyn shouted back, tears of the scourge dripping down his face as he tried to hold his husband in place as gently as he could. “He’s with the doctor. Let them do their job.”

“He’s our son!” 

“I know he is! But you can’t do anything to help him right now!” 

“Ardyn just let me go!” Cor cried out again, using the last bit of strength he had to try and get Ardyn off him, but he was no match for his husband’s strength. “Please… I need to protect him…”

“I am so sorry my darling but we can’t.” Ardyn whispered, unable to remove the anger from his voice. 

Cor shook his head and took in a deep breath as he finally relaxed himself. “I… I can’t lose him. We can’t fucking lose him. He’s our baby…” 

“I don’t want that to happen either. Listen, I have given another doctor the cup Prom was drinking out of. We will find out what toxin it is… and whatever the outcome of this is; I swear to you, on our marriage, we will find whoever did this to our son and they will pay for this. I promise you that.” 

Silence fell for a moment as Ardyn finally loosened his grip as he thought Cor wouldn’t do anything stupid. Cor turned around to face Ardyn, nodding away as he did so. His eyes were red and his face was wet from the tears, he had little control over his breathing as he held onto Ardyn’s shoulders and stared directly into his eyes. Cor didn’t even acknowledge the fact that Ardyn still had scourge running down his face. 

“When we catch who did this. They are never going to see the light of day again.”

“No, they are not.” Ardyn agreed. “Just try and breathe for me. If what we are hoping for happens, Prom needs us to be functioning human beings. Okay?”

Cor nodded and when Ardyn moved away from him, he slumped down to the floor and looked in the direction that the doctor had carried his son away in. There was a massive part of him that still wanted to run and to hold Prom close. But Ardyn was right, he was in the safest possible place right now. There were more than likely tons of guards and glaives surrounding the room making sure no one got within a foot of his hospital door. 

Not once did Cor divert his eyes. He didn’t speak either. At some point, Ardyn was on the phone. He was probably talking to Clarus or Somnus and trying to get a better understanding of the situation. From what Cor could make out, it was an assassination attempt on the entire family and that meant one of the waiting staff had to be involved somehow, or at least one of them had to know something. Thankfully, Regis and Noctis hadn’t taken a sip of their drinks and for some reason Ardyn asked whoever he was talking to, to tell Regis he didn’t blame him for what had happened. Cor didn’t even want to know why Regis blamed himself; all Cor could focus on right now was how his son was doing and how torn apart and cut up his heart felt. He thought that in a moment’s time, a doctor was going to come around that corner and tell him that… that… Prom was dead. Cor was trying his hardest not to think like that but he was a parent. He was Prom’s parent, and that was his job. To worry, protect and love that boy until he died. Cor had failed to protect him. That caused him more shame and distress than anything else that he had ever experienced in his life. All he wanted was to see Prompto smile again. Just one more time. If Cor couldn’t have that… then there was no point to anything anymore. 

“My Marshal.” 

Cor turned his head to see Ardyn kneeling in front of him. The black disease was still trickling out of his eyes, just like the tears that were still visible in Cor’s eyes, it really hurt to see his husband like this. Cor grabbed on to Ardyn’s hand and gave him a very weak smile to provide Ardyn with some comfort. The daemons were probably kicking up a right storm and here Cor was feeling sorry for himself, Ardyn needed support and comfort too. 

“Hey, Ass Hat.” Cor sniffed, running his thumb along Ardyn’s knuckles. 

Ardyn gulped. “... I didn’t hurt you earlier did I? If I did, I am so sorry. I just wanted Prom to get help.” 

Cor felt a sudden pain sparked across his abdomen then. Huh? He hadn’t even noticed the hurt up until now. “It’s okay. I am fine.” 

“Please tell me the truth.”

“A little bit. But don’t worry. Let’s just focus on Prom for now, yeah?” 

“Okay.” Ardyn said, placing Cor’s hand to his lips. 

Cor could see the guilt in growing Ardyn’s eyes. None of this was his fault. It wasn’t anyone’s but the person who had poisoned their son and tried to poison the rest of their family. Before Cor could try and convince his husband the truth, and not the false series of events that the daemons were trying to build up in his head, a voice cut in. 

“Your Grace. Marshal Leonis.” 

The pair stood up instantly and saw the doctor that had taken Prompto away. She looked… Cor didn’t know, but he knew for certain he didn’t like it. Cor held his breath as both he and Ardyn allowed her voice to fill in the silence. 

“We know what toxin Prompto had ingested. It’s Atropa Belladonna. Most commonly known as Deadly Nightshade.” 


	3. Time Spent On Tears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, all fluff as officially has gone out of the window for now :( 
> 
> I blame the weather it got too hot too quick where I am and it is making me tired and grumpy. So you have angst. 
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy :)

Ardyn was already swamped in a whirlwind of emotions with everything that had happened but to find out it was Deadly Nightshade, a highly toxic poison that had the capability of killing a child when they had only ingested around 2-3 of the deadly berries; his fury was starting to take control of him. He breathed through his nose and allowed his anger to sizzle away as the doctor continued to brief them on the situation. 

“We are currently pumping Prompto’s stomach and monitoring his heart as we speak. And unfortunately, I can’t promise you that we will be able to keep him stable. From the sample that we took from both Prince Prompto’s and Prince Noctis’s cup, we can confirm that their drinks both contained enough poison to kill them. It is a miracle your son is still alive.” 

“But he is okay at the moment?” Cor asked, voice strained and trembling, nearing the edge of tears again. To give Cor comfort, Ardyn rubbed the top of his back in a circular motion as gently as he could. And because Ardyn was concentrating on the movement of his hand, it prevented him from lashing out at anyone in the corridor. 

“He’s not awake and his heart rate is very slow. Marshal Leonis, you do understand there is a very high probability that he might not pull through.” 

“I don’t care about the probability! I want to know right this second if he is alright!” 

“Cor, calm down. Getting agitated is going to do nothing for Prom.” Ardyn said quietly so that the doctor couldn’t hear his daemonic voice seep through into his words. The rage within him was beginning to reach its peak; Ardyn really hoped he didn’t get to that point, or someone was going to get hurt whether or not they were responsible for his sunbeam’s condition. 

“I just want to know he is safe!” 

“If you let her speak, she will be able to tell us if that is the case.” Ardyn huffed out, before turning back to the doctor. Just from her stare Ardyn knew his daemonic face was showing. To be honest, Ardyn didn’t care if this woman was scared of him. Ardyn was more focused on how scared his child and husband were. Not to mention what was going through both of his nephew’s minds right now. “Please doctor, carry on.” 

“R-ri-right.” She smiled through her discomfort. Ardyn decided not to let the fear bother him today. “We have been through our antidote stores and thankfully we do have an antidote for this particular toxin. But I can’t stress enough that, because of how potent this particular poison is, we might not be able to help him.” 

“We understand that.” 

“I don’t! Your doctors! You are meant to help people!” Cor cut in with a cry. “Ardyn, don’t you know of any ancient remedy that could help him? Anything? Please? ” 

All Ardyn wanted to do was say yes and take away all the heart retching pain and all the worries Cor had, but alas Ardyn could not do that. He shook his head and held onto Cor’s forearm. “My Marshal, back in my time if you ate that... you might as well have been infected with the starscourge. I wish I could help our son but there is nothing I can d-”

Ardyn abruptly stopped himself mid-sentence. 

_ Prompto couldn’t get infected by the scourge… _

Ardyn’s eyes suddenly glowed with hope and he ordered the doctor to take him to see Prompto immediately. The doctor complied and took both men to the room where their son was but she told them while he was undergoing treatment neither of them could go into the room. Before Cor could say or do anything to contest them; Ardyn ordered the guard to keep the Marshal out of the way, no matter what order Cor gave them. (That did not end well) Right now, Ardyn was more focused on keeping their son alive. Ignoring what the doctor had just said, he hurried into the room, halting time so no one could stop him, and looked at his son laying lifeless on the bed. 

His poor little Sunbeam… he was so still. His heart was beating, barely, and he currently had a tube in his mouth. It was a horrific sight to see; Ardyn was so thankful that the shutters were down. If Cor saw Prom like this he would be in even more of a mess then he was when he left him outside the room. The doctor was right. The amount of poison Prom had surging through his veins should kill him but his daemon heritage was keeping him alive. And in order to keep him that way, just until the antidote had a chance to work, Ardyn had to increase the amount of scourge that Prom had in him. As much as Ardyn loathed Verstael for what he had done to his family, he was also very thankful to him for… manufacturing Prom in this way, because now Ardyn had a chance to save his son. Taking in a deep breath, Ardyn covered his fingertips with the scourge and placed them gently on his son’s arm. Ardyn knew, despite Prom’s inability to die solely from the scourge, the daemons would do anything in their power to keep their host alive including trying to dilute the poison themselves. This was Prom’s best chance and Ardyn was going to take it no matter what anyone else said. When Ardyn saw the scourge absorbing into Prom’s skin, he backed away and unfroze time. 

“Your Grace? I... I am afraid you can’t be in here.” A nurse said in an alarmed tone when he finally registered that Ardyn was in the room. 

“I know…” Ardyn said plainly, glancing up at the monitor to see if Prom’s condition had changed. 

Ardyn felt his shoulder’s relaxed and the air, he didn’t even know he was holding, released itself from his lungs. 

Prom’s heart rate had picked up. It may have only risen by a few beats, but it was enough to help him. Thank fuck the daemons were as protective, and were beginning to love, Prom as much as he did. 

Ardyn was ushered out of the room as the doctor forced her way inside and once again neither Ardyn or Cor had access to their son. Before Cor could go off on one, Ardyn explained to him what he had done and said repeatedly so that Cor had nothing to fear, as long as the doctor’s were fast and the antidote worked, Prompto would be fine. 

Cor wrapped his arms around Ardyn’s neck and pulled him in for a tight hug as he silently wept onto his shoulder. “Thank you, Ardyn.”

“It’s alright, my darling.” Ardyn whispered lightly, rubbing Cor’s back whilst returning the hug. “He is going to be okay.” 

“Even if he isn’t, you did everything you could. I love you. I love you so much.” 

“I love you too, My Marshal.” 

_ Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! _

Ardyn and Cor stopped hugging each other so that Ardyn could get his phone out of his pocket. When Ardyn read the name, he knew exactly what this phone call was going to entail. He quickly answered it and he didn’t even allow the caller a chance to speak. 

“Somnus, you better have something good for me.”

“ _ That I do.”  _ Somnus replied, aggression riding on his voice. Yet Ardyn could hear his younger brother gulp slightly; probably at the way he spoke to him. Ardyn rolled his eyes, he must have slipped back into his daemonic tone of voice again. Oh well!  _ “I have the person responsible for trying to murder our family.”  _

“Good.” Ardyn sneered, losing control of his emotions as hate and rage began to cloud his judgment. “Don’t you dare kill them.” 

_ “I wouldn’t dream of it. I’ll let you or Cor do that. They are telling me what else they put the poison in. It seems we are going to have to throw out the entire inventory of both food and drink just to be safe.” _

“That is the best course of action. Cor and I will be down there in a moment.” 

_ “Before you go brother!”  _ Somnus raised his voice, forcing Ardyn to stay on the line.  _ “They have said that this attack is payback for taking the Infernian.” _

Ardyn didn’t even realise he was growling until Cor rested a hand on his shoulder. Ardyn wanted to throw whatever he could at Besithia now! He knew the Empire would not attack their family like this. They would make a show of it and attack the King in public for the entire world to see. So Ardyn knew this had to be the work of that mad disgusting scientist! 

In a voice filled with nothing but venom Ardyn roared. “If they want him back so much, they can fucking have him! HIM AND ALL HIS FIRE!!! THEY ARE NOT GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!!!”

_ “Ardyn! CALM-” _ __

Ardyn hung up and threw his phone at the floor. Due to the force behind it, the phone smashed upon impact. 

Ardyn took in deep breaths, desperate to calm himself down. He knew he couldn’t get to Besithia, not without causing panic and a full scale battle fleet flying over Insomnia with all guns blazing. No… Ardyn couldn’t do that… but he could get to the individual that that vile man had sent. 

Their death was not going to be a quick one either. 


	4. The Pain That Time Brings

“Ardyn…” Cor said carefully as his husband continued to stare down at the phone that he had just destroyed. 

From Ardyn’s wording and pure aggression, Cor knew this had something to do with Verstael Besithia. He shouldn’t really have been surprised by this knowledge, but that didn’t prevent his own anger from escalating. However, Cor had to put that all on hold for a second so he could calm Ardyn down. Yes, the person who did this to their son and nearly to Regis and Noctis was going to pay and they more than deserved Ardyn’s wrath; but it mattered not to Cor if they had been paid to do this, they had targeted two children and that was unacceptable. The Marshal completely understood Ardyn’s need to kill the man but he also was more than aware that the daemons were going to lord this over his husband if he did. They may have helped to save Prom, but Cor was not about to let Ardyn channel them to murder someone because it could result in Ardyn doing unspeakable things to people of innocence. 

Cor held onto Ardyn's arms and shook him slightly so Ardyn would at least look up at him. When his husband did snap his head up, Cor was a little shocked to see no scourge. Cor rubbed Ardyn’s arms and smiled softly at him. “Ardyn. Please calm down.” 

“No.” Ardyn replied sharply. “Please get off me Cor. I have already hurt you once today. I don’t want to do it again.” 

Cor complied and raised his hands in the air as he continued to try and speak sense into his husband. “You told me earlier, getting agitated would do nothing for Prom. Getting this angry and using the daemons to hurt someone is going to upset him.” 

“Not if he doesn’t find out.” 

“He will. I’ll tell him myself.” Cor warned. When Ardyn refused to give him a verbal response, it meant that at least Ardyn was willing to listen to him and not fight him every step of the way. So Cor continued. “I just want you to promise me that you will not allow yourself to get carried away. That man will die for what he has done and tried to do to our family, I promise, but everyone needs you to remain in control of yourself. You understand that yes? Yes?” 

Ardyn started to laugh cruelly. “You are a funny one. A moment ago you were ready to cut your own men down to see our son, and now you are telling me not to let the daemons have at someone who hurt our baby boy?!”

“I have had time to think since then and you aren’t thinking properly now, are you?” Cor argued back.

“You do confuse my brain so…” Ardyn whispered, breaking eye contact. Cor wasn’t entirely sure if he was talking to him or the daemons but after a brief pause, Cor got his answer. “...of course he is going to die. I am just not allowed to use you lot… Because it is the fucking rules and we have to abide by them… if any of you say one more word I’ll allow Somnus to set us on fire… good. Thank you.” 

When Ardyn finally stopped talking to himself Cor thought it best he step in incase the daemons decided that the threat of being burnt alive was worth the risk. “Ass Hat, are you okay?” 

Ardyn nodded and spoke slowly. “Yes. But umm… because I am clearly unstable, at this moment in time, I think it is best I don’t see the man in question. So you’re going to have to kill him.” 

“That’s fine. And thank you for controlling yourself.” Cor said, giving him a soft smile. 

“Let’s just get this over and done with.” Ardyn said in a huff, walking passed Cor. 

As they were leaving Cor’s phone dinged. It was a text message from Somnus telling them exactly where to go and the pair went there without hesitation. They walked down in silence and along every corridor and hallway, guards and glaives were posted. None of them tried to interact with either Cor or Ardyn. It was probably because they were shit scared of Ardyn’s mood swings to risk it. That pleased Cor. It gave him a chance to think about what to say to the assassin that had hurt his son. Once there, Somnus was waiting for them. He explained that he had managed to get all the information they required out of him but how he got it was to remain a mystery. Cor simply rolled his eyes as Ardyn let out an evil chuckle. Sometimes Cor couldn’t tell which Caelum brother was more mentally unstable and quite frankly he didn’t want to know either. Cor turned his earpiece on so that Ardyn and Somnus could hear everything that was being said before going into the room. The Marshal closed the door behind him before Ardyn had a chance to look in. What he saw, just angered the Marshal more. 

The man in front of him, bound to a chair, was one of the waiter’s that had started here a year ago, just after Ardyn stole Ifrit from Niflheim, and he passed all the checks. Every single one of them. Fucking hell! Cor knew this man! Clarus even fucking knew this man! He had taken the time to talk to the pair of them whenever Cor or Clarus were on shift at dinner! Fucking hell, Regis spoke to this man on a daily basis! Now, he had taken his chances at killing his family. That was something Cor couldn’t forgive. 

“Novus.” Cor said as plainly as he could. 

“Marshal.” Novus replied back in the same tone. 

“You could have killed my son.” 

“That was the plan. Didn’t count on the fact His Grace could expel poison from his body.”

“He can’t die, you idiot! Poison was going to do little to him.” Cor growled, feeling himself get protective over Prom and Ardyn again. How dare he even think he could do damage to Ardyn! How dare he think he could take Prom away from him! Take Regis and Noctis away from him! Hurt Somnus even! This was his family and Cor was ready to butcher this man! 

Novus sighed, he already knew death was on the way. In a voice as calm as before he spoke. “Not when I put enough poison to kill a small village in both His Grace’s and His Former Majesty’s glass.” 

Silence fell between the pair as they glared at each other. 

Cor had contemplated over these last few hours what to say and what to do, but seeing Novus like this now… he was at a loss. Truly stuck on what pain to inflict upon him for all he did. But… Novus didn’t seem to care that this was quite possibly the last few moments of his life, he seemed rather distracted. That, for some reason, deeply concerned the Marshal. 

Cor cleared his throat and walked closer towards his son’s attacker. “Have you got anything to say for yourself?” 

Novus scoffed. “That I knew this was a suicide mission? Yeah, I knew.” 

“You still did it? Why?” Cor questioned, confusion starting to spread across his face as his anger remained at bay. For now at least. 

“Cause I was told to. The failure needed to be decommissioned.” 

Cor’s chest flared with rage as he got a dagger out of his armiger and held it to the man’s throat. He gritted his teeth with hatred. “He is not one of them! He is my son! He is better than any of you fuckers in Niflheim combined! He is good and he isn’t sick in the head like you lot!”

Novus laughed. “Yet you’re the one holding a knife to my throat.” 

“I am nothing like my son! I don’t have a problem with killing! I have done it more times than you can count!” 

“Clearly. But where is the honour in killing a man who is unarmed, Marshal?” 

Cor held his breath and closed his eyes. After a second or two, he put the dagger back into his armiger and stepped away from Novus who was grinning. He was nearly laughing at him, the sick twisted shit! Despite all of this and what he had just said, Novus was right. There was no honour in killing him like this. It went against everything Cor stood for. But Cor was so far beyond the point of furious now, that he had completely forgotten about what he had said to Ardyn, less than 15 minutes ago. 

“You’re right. I can’t kill you like this.” Cor admitted, walking closer to Novus again.

“I know.” Novus laughed. “So are you going to let His Grace butcher me or His Former Majesty? You can finally prove to the world what monsters the pair really are.” 

_ Oh, so this was what it was about for Novus? _ It wasn’t about doing what Verstael wanted. For him, he probably wanted both Ardyn and Somnus locked away so the Niffs could fly over here and destroy Insomnia. Well, that wasn’t happening. As long as Cor drew breath Ardyn wasn’t ever going back to that place. 

“No.” Cor said, shaking his head. 

“What are you going to do then?” Novus asked, getting impatient. 

“I am not sure if you are aware of this but His Grace and I have a dog. I think he’d like to meet you.”

Before Novus could question Cor, Cerberus appeared next to Cor and the dog did nothing but stare and growl at the person in the chair. 

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!” Novus screamed, trying to free himself from his restraints. 

Cor patted one of Cerbie’s heads and shrugged. “My dog. Cerberus. This man tried to kill Prompto and hurt dada.”

Cerberus started to bark furiously and bare all 126 of his sharp monstrous teeth. Cor could see Novus tremble in complete fear. He was sweating and panic was beginning to take hold of him. There was no more cockiness and he kept looking between all three of the heads and Cor. 

“Don’t worry he only attacks when Ardyn or myself tell him to.” Cor said, the threat very potent in his words.

“Please, Marshal?! Don’t! Please?!” Novus begged, tears of true terror filling his eyes. 

“No. You attacked and tried to kill two children. One of them being my son and the other being my nephew. You tried to murder my brother and attempted to put both my husband and my brother-in-law in jail.” Cor bit back. He turned around and walked towards the door. When his hand touched the handle Cor said very loud and clear:

“Cerbie. Kill.” 

“No! Please! Marsh- AHHHH!!!” 

Just like that the pleads were replaced with screams and the sound of his daemon dog tearing the man apart. Cor felt no remorse as he left the room to rejoin his husband. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that got ummm.... dark.... 
> 
> Anyway, next chapter will be out ASAP!!! :)


	5. Time Cherished

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter to tidy things up but we finally get to see if Prompto is okay!!! 
> 
> Thank you so much for all the support this fic and series has got, it really means so much to me. So thank you all so much XD
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy. :)

The pink and blue lights that kept darting along young Prom’s vision was beginning to fade now. Weird shapes and strange animals, maybe daemons, had been the only thing Prompto had been able to see since he… passed out? He didn’t really know what had happened. He remembered seeing Cor and being told to sit back down but that was it. Now all he could feel was pain. His throat was sore and his stomach was throbbing. And his head, it felt like he had ran into a wall at 100 miles an hour. His legs felt numb and his arms felt weak and he kept feeling something wet on his hand. Very slowly Prompto opened his tired eyes and looked down at his left hand, only to see Cerbie licking his hand and he could hear the faint sounds of whimpering. 

“Cerbie…” Prompto said weakly, giving his dog a small smile. 

Cerbie wagged his tail, putting his front paws on the bed to lick Prom’s face with all three of his tongues.

Prom couldn’t help but let out a small laugh as his face continued to get slobbered all over. “I love you too, Cerbie.” 

“Cerberus come on get down.” That was his dad’s voice. Within a couple of seconds, Cerbie’s heads was replaced by Cor and Prompto could not be happier to see his dad. Tears filled his eyes as Cor ran his hand through his hair. “Hey Prom.” 

“Dad… What… where am I?” Prompto asked, the lights of the room stinging his eyes and making his head hurt more. 

“You’re in the hospital, mate. Don’t worry, everything is going to be alright now.” Cor said quietly so he didn’t hurt Prom’s head any further. 

“I don’t understand. Why am I here? Is Noctis okay?!” 

“Noctis is alright.” Cor hushed him, as Cerbie jumped on the bottom of the bed and started to lick Prom’s legs to calm him down. 

“Can I see him?” 

“I am afraid not Prom.”

“Why?” Prom cried, getting more agitated and alarmed. 

Cor nodded and decided to just tell his son the truth. Prompto lay there and listened as his dad held him close. Poor Prompto couldn’t help but cry when he heard the reason why he was in here, because there has been an attack on their family. Noctis and Regis could have died and because of that Clarus and Gladio were keeping them safe in a room somewhere deep within the Citadel. Prompto felt so glad it was him who took a sip of the drink and no one else, cause at least he had a chance to live where as his best friend and uncle didn’t. Of course, Cor told Prom not to say such things, because he was just as important and as loved by everyone, like Regis and Noctis were. Prompto wiped his tears away and nodded at his dad’s words. He was just glad everyone was safe and well. 

“Where’s dad?” Prompto asked. 

There was a brief pause and Cor took a massive sigh. “He’s… with uncle Somnus.” 

“Why? He didn’t do anything bad did he?” 

“No. No. He didn’t. Cerbie did it, instead.” 

Prom looked down the bed to see Cerbie smiling at him with all the joy in the world, looking very proud of himself. Prompto was a little upset because he could only assume what had taken place but… how could Prom be mad at his daemon dog when all he was doing was protecting their family? He was such a good boy! And Prompto loved him so much! 

Prom smiled. “Thanks Cerbie.” 

Cerbie gave him three happy barks and rested his heads back on Prom’s legs in a protective manner. 

“Dad?”

“Yes mate?” 

“When can I see Noct? I want to make sure he is okay.” 

Cor let out a small laugh. “You haven’t a selfish bone in your body and I couldn’t be prouder of you. I am so glad you are alright Prom. I love you.”

“Love you too dad.” Prompto smiled back, before sitting up to give his dad a stern look. “But you didn’t answer my question.”

“Oh no, don’t go turning into Ardyn Leonis on me now, please. I don’t need another smart ass man to look after.” 

“ _‘Smart ass’_ ? That is so much better than _‘Ass Hat’_ , my darling.” 

“Dad!” Prompto smiled when he saw Ardyn and he held his arms out to give him a hug. “Is everyone okay?!”

Ardyn gave him a big squeeze and he was overcome with joy to see Prompto already acting like himself again. “Yes, yes, everyone is okay. But you mister, are you alright?” 

“Yeah.” Prom nodded before letting out a sigh. “I am sorry I didn’t listen to you and drank the juice before dinner.” 

“It’s alright, my sunbeam. No one blames you.” Ardyn promised, letting go of his son so he could sit in a chair by his son’s bedside. 

The four of them relaxed in each other’s company and Prompto told his dads all the weird and confusing things he had seen. Like Noct catching this mutant elephant rainbow fish thing, and Gladio and Iris turning into ninja bunny’s and Iggy acting like, well, anything that wasn’t Ignis. Those were some of the funny things he saw. However, his young mind had been clouded with much darker things too. Like… Somnus attacking his dad. Or his other dad not coming back from his mission like that one time before. Or Regis, Clarus and Noctis dying right before his eyes… those horrible things, he decided not to tell his dads. He didn’t want to worry them like he already had done today. He’d talk to Cerbie about it later. Prompto didn’t think there was any force in the beyond or on Eos that could make Cerberus Leonis leave his side for a while so they could have a chat when Cor fell asleep and Ardyn… went for a walk (if he decided left at all). The thought brought a smile to Prom’s face as he hugged Cor and held on to Ardyn’s hand, all the while Cerbie dozed on his feet. He loved his family so much he was just so happy that everyone was okay. 

It didn’t take long for Prompto to fall asleep for he was exhausted. Cor continued to run his hand through Prom’s hair, and when he was certain his precious perfect Prompto wouldn’t wake up, he looked over to his husband and whispered: 

“What did you and Somnus do with the body?” 

“Don’t you worry about that, My Marshal.” Ardyn smiled, standing up. He planted a kiss on Prom’s forehead and another to Cor’s lips. “Everything has been taken care of. Somnus has already ordered a full background check on all members of the staff, which includes the pair of us I am afraid to say.” 

“You?” Cor questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

“You know how the council get about me. Anyway, we will make sure something like this never happens again. I promise.” Ardyn said, holding on to his husband’s hand tightly. 

“It won’t if he has anything to say about it.” Cor laughed, looking down at the bed at their dog. 

“Because of our Cerbie, Verstael won’t dare try anything like that again.” Ardyn said with a devilish smile. 

Cor looked directly at Ardyn and demanded in a harsh whisper. “Ardyn what have you done?!”

“Nothing that should worry you.” 

“Ardyn that is not an answer that fills me with any confidence.” 

Ardyn remained silent and continued to smile. He couldn’t wait to see the fall out of this. 

“Ardyn!”

* * *

Verstael snatched the package out of one of his assistant's hands and sent them on their way within seconds. He did not have time for anything that was not work-related today. The package was heavy, it must be what he ordered the other day. Verstael sat the box down on the table, read the label attached and his face dropped. 

_Oh do try better next time. The chap you sent our way was quite the screamer._

_Lots of Love from the Adagium._

_P.S. if you touch my son or any member of my again, the same thing will happen to you. Have a nice day, Chief Besithia :)_

Verstael dropped the label and quickly opened the package and he soon wished he hadn’t. There were bits of bone, a head and lots of blood in the box and it smelt awful. All Verstael could do was thank the gods that he was used to seeing things such as this now. But he did not take kindly to the threat. The scientist nodded and decided the best course of action was to contact General Glauca immediately. If the Adagium had done this to a servant there was no telling what they would do with their General if he discovered the truth about him. No that wasn't going to happen. But at least the General could try and find a way to get back at the Adagium. Find a way that would have no connection to Verstael at all. 


End file.
